See also: List of newspapers in Minnesota.
| Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder | |
| Logo Alt: | MN Spokesman-Recorder 90th Anniversary Logo |
| Type: | Weekly newspaper (Thursday) |
| Owner: | Tracey Williams-Dillard |
| Owners: | --> |
| Founder: | Cecil Newman |
| Founders: | --> |
| Publisher: | Tracey Williams-Dillard |
| Language: | American English |
| Headquarters: | 3744 Fourth Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55409 |
| Publishing City: | Minneapolis |
| Publishing Country: | United States |
| Circulation: | 9,800 |
| Circulation Date: | 2024 |
| Circulation Ref: | [1] |
| Readership: | Twin Cities |
| Oclc: | 43310423 |
The Minnesota SpokesmanRecorder is an African-American, English-language newspaper headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and serves readers in the Twin Cities. Founded in 1934 by Cecil Earle Newman (who remained editor until his death in 1976),[2] it is the oldest continuously operated black newspaper and longest-lived black-owned business in Minnesota.[3] [4] [5] The current Publisher & CEO of the paper is Newman's granddaughter, Tracey Williams-Dillard.[6]
The newspaper's first issue appeared on August 10, 1934, as the St. Paul Reporter.[7] Until 2000, it released weekly alongside The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, also published and edited by Newman (until his death in 1976).[8] [9] The newspaper office moved from St. Paul to 3744 Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis, in 1958.[10] Under Newman's leadership, the newspaper played a key role in the civil rights movement in Minnesota.
After Newman's death in 1976, his wife Launa took over operation of the papers. In 2000, she merged them into a single title, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. In 2007, Newman's granddaughter Tracey Williams-Dillard became CEO of the paper.
The late photographer, filmmaker, writer, and composer Gordon Parks was a photo-journalist for the newspaper. The newspaper building on Fourth Avenue was declared a historic landmark in 2015 for its association with the civil rights movement in Minnesota.[11] The Minnesota SpokesmanRecorder is a member of the National Newspaper Association, Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., Metropolitan Economic Development Association, Minnesota Minority Media Coalition, and Minnesota Newspaper Association.[12] [13]
In 2021, the newspaper's archives from 1934 to 1964 were publicly digitized in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Minnesota Historical Society.[14]